For those who may have known Phil.
He gave many, many talks at Sea-Pac over the years and was an all around really nice guy.
Director Ritz included the below text in our monthly newsletter.
73..
Mark, HDX
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NW DIVISION ASSISTANT DIRECTOR PHIL KANE, K2ASP, SK
I am very sorry to report that our well known FCC expert, and an
Assistant Director for the Northwestern Division, Phil Kane, K2ASP, has
recently become a silent key. Phil and I go way back, as he was the
steely-eyed engineer at the FCC office on Battery Street in San
Francisco that administered my Second and First Class Commercial
Radiotelephone license tests back in the 1970s. As a relative youngster
sitting in an exam room, I was deathly afraid of him then. That said,
his humor, good nature and expert knowledge were well respected, both
then, and now. The below is courtesy of the Broadcasters' Desktop
Resource:
“Phil Kane, well-known broadcast engineer, FCC District Director (San
Francisco), attorney, and Amateur K2ASP passed away on November 24th in
Beaverton, OR after dealing with some health issues. He was 85 years
old.
Phil Kane was born in Brooklyn NY on December 6, 1936. Life brought him
to California.
Phil earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from The Cooper
Union School of Engineering. He also graduated from UCLA, Los Angeles,
with a degree in System Engineering.
After graduation, in 1957, Phil worked for the US Air Force as an
Electronic Systems Engineer on major defense applications including
USAF/SAC Command and Control System. There he designed and oversaw
functional and operational tests.
>From 1964-67, he served in the Ministry of Communications of the State
of Israel. In the Engineering Services, Frequency and Licensing Branch
he worked as a regulatory engineer, dealing with national and
international communications regulatory issues.
Back in the USA, Phil joined the FCC in 1967, serving in the San
Francisco office for 28 years and rising to the post of District
Director. Known as a detailed engineer, he usually was more concerned
with helping broadcast stations correct problems – although when they
ignored/disobeyed his orders, there would be consequences.
During his time at the FCC Phil also attended San Francisco Law School,
graduating with a JD in 1994. He was admitted to legal practice before
California State and Federal Courts and before the Federal
Communications Commission – and the Supreme Court of the United
States.
Since retiring from the FCC in 1995, Phil would become perhaps the very
first Alternate Broadcast Inspector under the ABIP arrangement. He had
been an Attorney and Engineering Manager as Vice-President-General
Counsel of the consulting engineering firm CSI Telecommunications. There
his specialties included communications regulatory compliance – legal
and technical areas such as siting and land use permit issues for
communications facilities, especially emergency communication siting,
planning and operations.
As part of his work over the past 50 years, he qualified as Registered
Professional Engineer in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah, and is
eligible in all other jurisdictions.
Phil was Senior Life Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (IEEE); a Life Member – Society of Broadcast Engineers,
Chapter Vice-Chair; a Senior Member – National Association of Radio
and Telecommunications Engineers and a Life Member and Asst. Division
Director – American Radio Relay League, and, locally, active in the
Washington County (Oregon) ARES.
Phil had both a great sense of humor and a clear understanding of the
issues that have consumed much of the FCC he knew.
Phil passed away just a month after his wife. He is survived by son,
Daniel (Leslie) Petcher; sister, Ruthanne Gould; stepson, Lee (Gina
Rosito) Kane; and stepdaughter, Shoshana (Stephen) Silver. They asked
that those wishing to make donations, do so in their name to any food
bank.”
Phil, you will be sorely missed by all the amateurs in this Division.
RIP, OM! And yes, I will always remember those steely eyes.
